1. Field
One or more embodiments relate to an apparatus and method for inspecting a multi-layer packet, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for inspecting a multi-layer packet, which may effectively perform a multi-layer processing with respect to a multi-layer packet flow using attributes between the multiple layers.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a hierarchy of a protocol, an open systems interconnection (OSI) layer 7 model may be widely used. Here, an Internet protocol stack may include layers 2 to 4 and a layer 7, and thereby may be configured of 4 layers. The layers 2 to 4 may be layers determined based on a data transfer scheme, the layer 2 may be configured of an Ethernet protocol, and a layer 3 and a layer 4 may be configured of an Internet protocol.
The layers 2 to 4 may process a frame or a packet using an exclusive hardware or a network processor, and a processing performance of the layers 2 to 4 may be an important issue. The layer 7 may be an application layer where various services are loaded, and flexibility of the layer 7 may be an important issue.
Along with crucial integration/convergence and a multi-core processor for a variety of data transfer schemes, an effective processing for the layer 2 to the layer 7 may be required due to demands for development in a processing capability and for high efficiency.
Specifically, a processing for the layer 2 to the layer 7 may be required to be performed at the time of inspection of a packet. In this instance, when the processing is performed in an existing scheme, the layer 2 to the layer 4, that is, lower layers of which a performance is an important issue, and the layer 7, that is, a higher layer of which flexibility is an important issue, may conflict with each other so that one of the performance and the flexibility may disadvantageously need to be selected.
Accordingly, there has been suggested a packet processing method that may process the layer 2 to the layer 4 while improving the performance of the layer 7 using, in the layer 7, information having been processed in the layer 2 to the layer 4 by transferring the information, and thereby may acquire the flexibility of the layer 7 while maintaining the performance of the layer 2 to the layer 4. The packet processing method may have an advantage in that the performance processed in the layer 7 may be improved and the processing for the layer 2 and the layer 3 may be performed regardless of the layer 7. However, at the time of inspection of the packet or associative operation of a different network, an integrated processing performance for the layer 2 to the layer 4 and the layer 7 may be still be deteriorated due to a performance difference between the layer 2 to the layer 4 and the layer 7.
Also, there has been suggested a packet processing method that may configure the packet processing in a multi-step manner to enable a unique function for each step to be performed, so that the layer 2 to the layer 7 are integrated and processed by a simple structure.
The immediately above packet processing method may simply perform an integrated processing with respect to the layer 2 to the layer 7, and classify and process packets of which a processing is required to be performed in the layer 7. However, the unique function of each step may not be classified for each layer, so that flexibility in each layer may be deteriorated. Also, an associative operation between the lower layers (the layer 2 to the layer 4) and the upper layer (the layer 7) may not be realized, and thereby higher layer information may not be utilized in the lower layer.